Coronavirus: ‘My Hotel is Losing About £40,000 a Month’ – BBC

Nailcote Hall Hotel

At the moment, Rick Cressman says his hotel Nailcote Hall, near Coventry, is losing £40,000 a month, with bank borrowing his only financial lifeline.

The hotel had been turning over just short of £3m a year.

“Fixed costs mean we must operate at scale,” he told the BBC. “We would need to operate at 50% capacity just to turn a small profit.”

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says almost half of UK firms have been unable to fully restart operations despite restrictions being eased.

Its coronavirus impact tracker – billed as the largest business survey of its type – found that weak consumer demand and possible local lockdowns were seen as obstacles.

‘Bit of a punt’

Nailcote Hall, which employed 80 staff before lockdown, was a popular venue for weddings, party nights and visitors to the nearby National Exhibition Centre (NEC).

It plans to re-open on 24 August, but since Mr Cressman took the decision another big NEC event he was hoping would bring in business has been cancelled.

“We are taking a little bit of a punt,” he says.

Mr Cressman is hopeful his customers will return relatively quickly, saying many bookings “haven’t been cancelled, just pushed back”.

Even so, the hospitality sector has strict distancing rules, so getting back to the days when the hotel had average wedding parties of 100 guests could be a long way off.

His staff are gradually being brought back from furlough, with training underway and the re-arrangement of the hotel to make it Covid-19 compliant in progress.

Mr Cressman said: “We need to get up to 50% capacity within about two months. I’ve been in this business 40 years. I’m sure many people with less experience would find it overwhelming.”

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